I have (and adore) a S&B PMII 5-25x56 on one of my .338 LMs, which has served me well. Though no scope is perfect I have yet to find something I'd rather have, and I've owned NF, Swaro, Zeiss, etc -- until now.

I've been using and looking at some USO scopes and have been thoroughly impressed by their range of options, reticles, glass... everything, really. I've been an avowed S&B snob ever since my foray away from "Leupy Land" and "The Kingdom that is NightForce" and never thought I'd give anything else a look. I mean, honestly, once you've arrived in Heaven why look elsewhere?

This USO stuff, though, is just crazy-good. I also love the fact that it's a US company as well and seem to be making a kick-ass product.

I'm no shooter, but I like nice stuff and always want it to be ME that is the weakest link, not my gear. I'm doubling-down this year and really making a concerted effort to become a proficient ELR shooter, taking as many 1,000+ meter courses as I can make time for. I don't know what it is, but I have big wood for ringing steel out past 1km.

Is S&B still king? Or has USO dethroned them? Or does it even matter?

Me personally I would not say US Optics is the new king unless they have really changed in the past couple years.  They sent me a couple scopes to test a few years ago and I found problems with everyone they sent.  Yes they do have the build the scope the way you want which is great but I will put my Nightforce F1 above US Optics.  I think S&B and the new Razors are most likely the best right now.

I'm chomping to try the new 4.5-27x56 Razor. For the money, if it's as good as some are saying, it looks to be quite the bargain.

What kind of problems?  Not challenging you, it's just that this is the first time I've ever heard of someone having problems with USO stuff

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Well all the scopes sent were very dark when looking through.  Contrast was awful.  Two of them did not track worth a shit and all the turrets were very mushy.  There were a couple more things but I can't remember them at the moment.  For what you're paying I think USO isn't the best option out there.

While they are good I don't know that I rate them above March, S&B, Nightforce, Leupold MK6/MK8, Premier (pre-sellout), Steiner, or Hensoldt.  If there is something you just must have then USO will build it but they aren't really better than any of the other big names in my opinion.

What do I know though as I only have a Bushnell LRHS right now

I've a couple of US optics, an ST-10, SN3 3.2X17, and a S&B 5X25 PMII



In comparing the SN3 and SB, the quality of glass is exceptional on both.  Both track very well.  Light gathering is impossible to compare since the objective lenses differ, the S&B is 56mm where the SN3 is 44mm, 12 mm makes a difference.



The knob on the S&B is more tactile, and easier to set zero stop.  I like the knob illumination on the S&B more than the two button system on the US Optics newer models.



On illumination, the US optics illuminates the entire reticle where my S&B only lights up the center portion of the reticle, I like the whole reticle lit up.



I also prefer the mil gap reticle on the SN3 better than the P4L I have on the S&B but that may because I'm more accustomed the the mil gap.



They are both excellent scopes.



just my .02

I couldn't buy S&B so I opted for USO SN3. Exceptional quality, and if budget permits I have S&B on my list next. Took 3 months and 3K for the scope to get to me. Love it totally.

Here's some light reading....

http://precisionrifleblog.com/2014/09/19/tactical-scopes-field-test-results-summary/

I read through that. What do they know, they only do it for a living!  

I have the PM2, which I love and use as my benchmark for everything else, but I swear this USO 5-25x58 is the nuts.

And that was only a portion of the test.  It is a pretty neat read, if you have the time.  I own 2 USO scopes both purchased used on the 'hide and both with the mil-scale GAP reticle and the now discontinued ERGO parallax adjustment.  I Like 'em.

I don't think there is a ONE BEST SCOPE for everyone, however seeing the RELATIVE strengths and weaknesses of some of the more popular brands was an eye-opening experience for me.  

Gthirteen,That is the best write up I have ever seen.Thank you for that.

I too have 2 USO's and I love them but you are right that there is no one best scope for everyone.I personally went with USO because they are built like a tank,American made and I can get them in so many different configurations.It really is a custom scope.

I own both a PMII (w/MSR), and a USO SN3 (3.2-17x w/Gen2 XR), and consider them equal in overall quality, barring the fact that my S&B is 25x. However, I've had the chance to look through quite a few USO's, and Ive noticed that the quality of glass seems to vary from scope, to scope. I guess I just got lucky in that I got one with really good glass.  However, with such a thin line separating the elite scope builders (Hendsolt, Kahles, March, Premiere, etc), I think it's impossible to declare anyone the "King". And if anything, it seems like USO seems to have lost its "flavor of the month" status that it held a few years ago. But that's the nature of the beast.  I will say tho, that USO has great customer service, which is no small thing.

IMO, USO is the best option if you need a very specific scope with very specific features, as they are all essentially custom-built to order.  I've owned several and the only one that had a problem was one that I purchased second-hand that had a gas leak and a fogging inside.  One email to USO and they paid to ship it to them, fixed it and I had it back in a week.



Since I'm not a super-shooter and don't have any specific needs that aren't met by an off-the-shelf S&B or NF, I just use them.  I still like USO and wouldn't hesitate to use them, but the issues with their products seem to be more common than with S&B or NF.  However, they do take care of you if there is a problem.  USO's bread and butter is in building a custom scope.

Unless something has changed in the last year, as D-RAS03 above said the turrets on the USO scopes I have owned or played with are all "mushy"  if you regularly dial your hits you will likely be disappointed.  I never had tracking issues but the clicks are not very tactile and precise.  I love the S&B PMII 5-25.  Owning the PMII 5-25 like you do I would not buy a USO over another S&B or NF ATACR.  You are at the top with what you use now and I would wager that you would part with the USO after the new wore off, or at least have cognitive dissonance/buyers remorse after some use.



 

There are few feelings quite as sick as being on T2 of a 4 day PR course and having your Illum knob on your 3 week old  USO fall off during a string of fire.

holy crap!   what's all the silver stuff?   how long did it take them to repair it?

Apparently that's the elmer's glue they use to put the scope together. Yes, I could look inside the optic and see the reticle glass and all the little mechanisms that do stuff.

Larue was awesome enough to exchange it for a leupy MK6 3-18 and a few other things. I was a couple days past the 14 day return for defective stuff, but I figured what the hell and called and asked. They hooked me up.

I was a little unimpressed the day I got it, it was literally like my 5th or 6th choice, but everything else was sold out, and I had the class coming up and needed an optic for the OBR. I never could shake the thought it had a slightly chintzy feel, Plus this was the older version with only like 13-16 MIL of total adjustments, even with the canted mount I had only like 10 mil, max, usable in elevation adjustment before the image was partially occulted by part of the elevation mechanism.

I hear the new ones have 26 mil of adjustment, and the non illuminated USO scopes are supposedly actually pretty reliable. I've got a BEAST 5-25/H59 now though, and in the future any new optics in that class will probably be the same.

I would never purchase a USO scope again, IMO there is noting USO offers that you cannot get from a more reliable quality MFG. They do use good glass and people like them just not, me,  people too many issues.  

Holy shit. I'd be absolutely furious given what I would have paid for that.

Well, I traded a fellow ARF member one of my PVS-14 night vision monoculars for his LR-17. I have an SB PMII 4-16x42 with H37 to compare it to, as that would be about as close a comparison as one could make.

I'll let my own experience be my guide before I ante up for the big boys I want.

My comparison units:

Never, ever seen so many bad reports on USO.  Eager to see what TheHorta thinks about his.